Passerini, Walter

2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

La Stampa - Italy | 18/09/2014

Debate on job protection paralyses Italy

Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi presented part of his labour market reform to the Senate on Wednesday. The unions have already announced they will fight the plans to relax job protection. But the row over employment protection is ridiculous since there aren't enough jobs in the first place, the liberal daily La Stampa criticises: "This conflict is flaring up at a time when jobs should have the priority. ... Such ardent complacency will only leave ashes in its wake and won't create a single job. We would do better to put our energy and passion into constructive debates about the future. About how we want to create full employment and growth in the next five years. We should think about what we can do for the 3.2 million officially unemployed, the 3.3 million who've been off the job market for a long period (and who've given up even looking for jobs), innumerable youths, women, over-50s and recipients of unemployment benefits, to give them access to the world of employment."

Italy urgently needs pension reform

Italy's new Prime Minister Mario Monti announced the cornerstones of his drastic austerity programme following a meeting of Eurozone ministers in Brussels on Wednesday. Part of the programme pertains to the controversial pension system, but it is only meaningful when young people have the prospect of getting a job, the liberal daily La Stampa notes: "Since 1996 this reform has been talked about. Again and again the problem was postponed for the next legislative period and passed on to future generations. But the time for short-sighted election strategies is over. To prevent the system from collapsing the gap between expenditure and revenues must first be addressed. ... Only a dishonest accountant would claim that the problem can be solved if the lacking expenditure is balancing out by raising the retirement age. The cut in costs this would achieve only makes sense if new workers, above all young ones, gain access to the job market. Otherwise the measures will fail to have the intended impact in the long term."